Russell Wilson Says He's 'Fired Up' After Sean Payton Hired as Broncos HC

Russell Wilson is ready to ride again for the Denver Broncos, only this time with a new coach.

The Broncos officially welcomed Sean Payton as their next head coach Monday, and the quarterback reacted with no shortage of enthusiasm:

It makes sense that the future Hall of Famer would be "fired up" for the change given how the 2022 season unfolded. Denver was arguably the most disappointing team in the league at 5-12, first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett was fired before the season ended and Wilson played at the worst level of his career.

He completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 3,524 yards, 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while going 4-11 as a starter. The completion percentage and touchdown passes were career-low numbers.

Payton has a track record of success, though, and formed one of the best coach-quarterback partnerships in modern league history with Drew Brees when he was with the New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans went 152-89 with nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl title when he was on the sidelines from 2006 through 2021. Now Wilson and Denver will try to live up to those numbers during Payton's second chapter of his head-coaching career.